Feeble links
by feather-muyo
Summary: i thught that XaNA couldn't go straight into possing people so i came up witha way to breach the gap. yumi is the victim for this story although you could say sissy was hurt as well.someone finds out about Lyoko as well and saves the day too. U
1. XANA's gift

**Feeble links**

**Italics are thoughts. Disclaimer: I don't own CL but James is mine. Happens between season 1 & 2.**

**Chapter 1- X.A.N.As gift**

Yumi sat on her bed wondering why Ulrich had asked to see her; he knew she had a family night in tonight.

"Darling," called Mrs Ishiyama. 'We're ready for you."

"Coming mum," Yumi pulled her hair out of her favourite black jumper.

Yumi gently trended down the stairs, but her hopes of not stepping on anything were squashed along with the toy that Hiroki had left on the stairs. As she entered the living room, she let out a gasp. In front of her lay a small mountain of exquisitely dressed boxes. Hiroki sat on the floor idle looking at the gifts.

"Shall we get going then?" Yumi said, before her mum could comment on the blackness.

* * *

Ulrich sat on the grass, waiting for Yumi to arrive. He couldn't wait to see Yumi's face when she saw Jeremy's surprise that he had been working on for weeks.

There came Yumi, skirting around the trees.

"Hey what's up? Why did you want to meet up?" Yumi panted trying to get her breath back. "I had to say I felt ill."

"It will be worth it," Ulrich rummaged around in his pocket. "Before we go I have... something for you." Ulrich blushed, fiddling with a little red box.

Yumi playfully grabbed the box.

"Wow" exclaimed Yumi. Inside the box was a black rose, mounted on a silver ring. Yumi wrapped her arms around Ulrich, not caring if anyone saw her. Yumi felt his body tense, and then relax. A vibration was felt at Yumi's side.

"Oh my god!" Ulrich pushed Yumi away. "Odd, keep your hair on.' A flustered Ulrich said to the open air, "We're coming."

"Race you there." Yumi said, obviously oblivious to how much that hug had meant to him.

The two reached the factory in record time. Yumi skidded off the rope, the ring glistening in the moon light, and touched the lift wall.

"You let me win, didn't you." Yumi ruffled Ulrich's hair.

"Well you have to win sometimes or you'll lose heart," joked Ulrich as he punched in the numbers.

As the elevator shuddered to a halt, on the scanner level, Ulrich couldn't help but smile.

"Come on Cheshire cat, let's get to Lyoko." The always impatient Odd huffed.

"Why are we going to Lyoko?" Yumi was now truly confused

"You'll see. Yumi, be prepared for a bumpy transfer through." Jeremy's voice crackled over the intercom.

* * *

Bump, thump, plonk. They had arrived in the forest region. Odd surfaced from behind a tree. Standing there, staring, was Aelita, who had only seen them a few times in normal clothes.

"You look nice with your hair down, Yumi." That was when Yumi realised why she had a rough ride to Lyoko.

"Come on follow me" gestured Aelita, her pink hair bobbing into the distance.

When the gang turned the corner, they saw the forest had been decorated with streamers, virtual food & toys.

"Thank you, guys." A bemused Yumi said.

They spent an hour playing games and mucking about; finally, having time to relax in Lyoko, after a tough few months. They gave up trying to get Jeremy to come. Earth tremors rocked their party. _Not now please._

"Sorry guys, XANA's sent Yumi a birthday present, two platforms to the north," came the voice of reckoning.

"How can we, I'm the only one in my Lyoko form?" Ulrich was now glad he had come in his samurai form.

"Send Yumi home, Jeremy." Aelita said.

"Go home and get some rest." Jeremy started to type furiously.

If only they knew it would be the total opposite. Ulrich watched the last pixels of Yumi vanish.

"Right, Odd, let's protect Aelita as best as we can."

* * *

Yumi came out of the scanners feeling nostalgic. She wondered if she should stay. Before, she could decide the intercom crackled.

"Go on get home, it's your birthday. Give us a call if you see anything suspicious" Click. Yumi headed home, looking forwards to a long sleep.

Yumi got home & crept into her room. As she got undressed she kept Ulrich's ring on her finger. Her phone started to ring.

* * *

Odd found it hard to adapt to not being a cat. He actually had to walk instead of climb trees. It seemed too easy though. The tower was only a platform away.

"5 hornets at 12 o'clock"

It didn't take long for Odd to be devitalized. This left Ulrich with 4 hornets to deal with, and the battle had just begun. The hornets buzzed around the tower. Ulrich and Aelita both knew they were toying with them.

"I'm worried. These pulses seem too strong. " Aelita turned to face Ulrich. "I have bad feeling about this. Is Yumi alright?"

"Don't worry, everything will be ok," came the blonde genius voice.

All Ulrich wanted to do was get Aelita into the tower, stop this game and go to bed.

* * *

Yumi ignored the remaining calls, closed her eyes and dreamt about the factory. She stood alone in the scanner room, in front of her she could see everyone crying. Without thinking, she wandered towards the centre. At her feet lay her little brother, and when Yumi knelt down and touched him, he was cold.Withdrawing her hand, a thin silver-red thread of blood connected him to her for one final moment before that too was shattered and pooled on his face

"If only Yumi was here" sobbed Ulrich, who was sitting next to Hiroki.

"But I am here," Yumi said, "What do you need me to do?" Ulrich completely ignored her: he just kept sobbing.

"Ah!" Yumi sat up, shaking. 'Phew. It was only a dream' her hair was coming out of her night time bun. Yumi looked over to her phone. She had at text.

* * *

Aelita had made herself a place to hide, whilst Ulrich distracted the remaining three hornets. Ulrich stabbed a hornet that wasn't playing ball. With it gone, Aelita made a run at the tower.

The two hornets turned around and aimed their lasers at Aelita. Ulrich jumped on front of the lasers, saving Aelita as she went into the tower.

"Good job," came Odd's cheerful voice.

"What, do you expect less of me!" joked Ulrich.


	2. Truth is out

Truth is out

Aelita disappeared into the activated tower. Humming filled the air as the remaining hornets swept around for another attack.

"Hurry, Einstein." A worried Ulrich said, pulling his sword out of his sheath again.

"I'm going as quickly as I can." A voice filled the air.

Ulrich used triplicate. The hornets were taken back, with three Ulrichs. The lead Ulrich executed a perfect slash on the front hornet. With this last movement, Jeremy initialised Ulrich's devitalisation programme; Aelita appearing from the tower.

* * *

The guys raced off back to school not knowing what had happened to Yumi. Ulrich and Odd waved goodbye to Jeremy as they entered their dormitory.

Ulrich reached for his phone on his bedside table. He speed dialled Yumi's cell phone number.

"Hi," Yumi, who had finally got back to sleep, yawned.

"Man, I hate these late night adventures," came the reply.

"Yeah, how are we going to focus on Mrs. Hertz lecture on seismic waves?" interrupted the half naked Odd.

"Oh my God! You can't seriously be going back to sleep; it's 6.00am."

All Ulrich got in reply was Odd's disastrous snoring.

"Yikes! What is that noise?" asked Yumi down the phone. 'It is worse than hornets."

"The reason why I sleep with earplugs" Ulrich explained.

"I guess you want to know what happened. I think XANA possessed the phone box near my house."

"What happened? Surely, a phone box is harmless." Ulrich yawned.

* * *

Yumi was so engulfed in her convocation she hadn't heard her brother's door open and his soft padding of his feet, heading towards her room. He wanted comfort from her teddy bear.

* * *

"It was strange, my phone kept on ringing. When I finally answered," she said, twiddling a stray piece of hair, "I heard a deep voice telling me to mind my step, he was watching me. After that I got text suggesting I was in danger. The last message read:

_Your friends may have defeated me this time but the damage is already done. Send your love to dear Ulrich. XANA._

"Oh dear. Hope you can get some rest. See you at school, later." Ulrich chucked the phone at Odd.

With that Ulrich decided to get an early shower. He closed the door on the grunts of Odd.

* * *

Hiroki pushed his head around Yumi's slightly open door.

"Yumi can I cuddle your teddy please?" a puzzled boy in cowboy pyjamas asked.

"Of course, did you have a bad dream?" Yumi pulled Hiroki into her open hands.

"Yes" Hiroki smiled, looking into Yumi's tired eyes.

"What is Lyoko & who is XANA?" enquired Hiroki.

_Oh flip. _Yumi nervously twiddled some hair.

"Look, I'm tired. Take the bear and leave." Yumi was shocked at her aggressiveness. Hiroki left fighting back tears.

"Why do I act like this? I hate what Lyoko is doing to me." A deflated Yumi pounded on the table.

* * *

Ulrich wiped the suds of his face; the cold water refreshing his pondering mind.

_Could that voice Yumi heard really be XANA'S? _Ulrich wrapped a towel around histoned body_. Is XANA more than a computer program?_

As he padded down the corridor, leaving footprints behind, he bumped into a round man.

"Stern, what do you think you are doing, dripping down this corridor?" a sleepy Jim mumbled.

"Nothing, Jim" Ulrich saw his footprints _whoops._

"Get back to your dorm then. You're a walking hazard." Jim barked, regaining his composition.

* * *

Yumi found Hiroki curled up on the sofa pulling the bear's ears.

"Why did she shout, Toki?" Hiroki sobbed pulling at the bear's ears.

"How many times do I have to say it's called Samsami." Yumi called from the door frame.

"Oh hi, Yumi." Yumi saw a tear streaked face staring at her.

"Look I'm sorry. It is just that I have had lots of pressure from Jeremy." Yumi started to explain.

"Will you tell me about Mr. Lyoko and what a XANA is, please?" looking up to Yumi. "Wait a second…do baby's come from XANAs?"

"No, they don't. I'll tell you what a XANA is, just promise me you won't pull Samsami's ear off as I get ready for school," she said, pointing at the ear he was absent-mindedly pulling at.

"OK." he cheered up greatly, a toothy grin spreading across his face. Yumi crept up the stairs, checking that her parents were still asleep.

* * *

Jeremy was in his room, trying to connect to Lyoko. A pink hair sprite popped on to his screen.

"Hi, Jeremy," the soft speaking sprite said.

"Hi, Aelita," Jeremy blushed; she had caught him changing his pants.

"What are you doing, Jeremy?" Jeremy had tripped over his pants legs.

He rubbed his head "Getting ready." Jeremy said recovering his composition.

"The last mission seemed odd. When I entered the code I felt the tower resist almost and XANA's monsters seemed to be toying with us," Aelita inquired.

"My systems didn't register any anomalies though." Just then the bell rang. "I'll long in at 12pm GMT. See you later." Leaning over his chair, he closed the window. Jeremy caught a last glance of Aelita's radiant smile, before she disappeared of the screen.

* * *

Yumi explained to Hiroki all about what Lyoko was, her role there and what XANA did.

"How come I don't remember any of it?" Hiroki thought out loud.

"Our computer has a little ability that allows us to go back in time."

"So you will never die then?" rejoiced Hiroki: he really cared for his big sister.

"Unfortunately, not," Wondering if she should tell him about her near miss. "If someone dies during an attack, we can't revive them. That would be playing God." She decided not to worry her little brother too much.

They sat together, allowing Yumi a chance to talk finally open up to someone different. As the clock struck 8 o'clock Yumi got up to go to school. As she closed the door, she whispered,

"Don't tell mum and dad, Hiroki, please." Yumi got thumbs up as she stepped onto the gravel path. As she walked down the road, he called back, "It's not like they'd believe me if I did tell them!"


End file.
